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4.0
Birds are very often fascinating due to their astonishing plumage. Tropical birds even more than, say, European ones. Their feathers shine in unimaginable colours and they often have a courting ritual that is just as fascinating.
One of THE most astonishing bird species on the planet in that regard are the birds of paradise. They have brilliant colours but also quite unusal shapes of feathers and sometimes almost comical ways to court the other sex.
They are also some of Sir David Attenborough's favourite animals because of that, which is why he helped bring about (and promote) this book. And yes, I bought it only because his name was on it.
Ever since I saw a bird of paradise for the first time in one of Sir Attenborough's programmes, I've been intrigued by these birds. There are small and large ones, ones that can barely stay upright on a branch because their tail feathers are so long and heavy, black ones with one or two dazzling flecks of colour in their plumage and there are some that sport almost every colour of the rainbow.
There are 42 species of bird of paradise, all with varying beaks, feathers and dances. And they have all captivated naturalists ever since the first one was discovered. It is therefore no surprise that there is an astonishing number of art showing these extraordinary birds to the world. Also because they are any artist's dream (many tropical birds have very shiny colours but these birds have the splendid feather shapes and behaviour to go with that).
As this book is once again for art lovers, I shall let the art speak for itself and the birds:
And no, it was not easy choosing pictures to show here in my review so I can only imagine too well what the author must have gone through while selecting which paintings to use in the respective chapters.
For those that have never seen them, please click the links below. They are snippets from the documentaries I was talking about above and show the fantastically quirky courtship dances of some of these birds along with their songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTmHtxJpEWE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWfyw51DQfU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7QZnwKqopo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2EXFsMKm2k
Because seeing them in the impressive paintings shown above is one thing, but seeing them "in action", is an altogether different experience (even if it is just on screen).
Along with the great art, the chapters tell us of when, where and how the respective species was discovered and by whom. So while the art and the birds themselves take center stage, there is some interesting history and science in here as well, which was quite nice.
I'm usually a champion of the not so flamboyant variety of animals so tropical birds - while still beautiful and impressive - are usually not my favourite kind, but these ... these are different if only because they are funny (and not always the brightest if you look at the hybrids that happen when one bird doesn't realize he's courting one from another species - no, I'm not kidding, that actually happens quite frequently with them when they get overly excited *lol*).
One of THE most astonishing bird species on the planet in that regard are the birds of paradise. They have brilliant colours but also quite unusal shapes of feathers and sometimes almost comical ways to court the other sex.
They are also some of Sir David Attenborough's favourite animals because of that, which is why he helped bring about (and promote) this book. And yes, I bought it only because his name was on it.
Ever since I saw a bird of paradise for the first time in one of Sir Attenborough's programmes, I've been intrigued by these birds. There are small and large ones, ones that can barely stay upright on a branch because their tail feathers are so long and heavy, black ones with one or two dazzling flecks of colour in their plumage and there are some that sport almost every colour of the rainbow.
There are 42 species of bird of paradise, all with varying beaks, feathers and dances. And they have all captivated naturalists ever since the first one was discovered. It is therefore no surprise that there is an astonishing number of art showing these extraordinary birds to the world. Also because they are any artist's dream (many tropical birds have very shiny colours but these birds have the splendid feather shapes and behaviour to go with that).
As this book is once again for art lovers, I shall let the art speak for itself and the birds:
And no, it was not easy choosing pictures to show here in my review so I can only imagine too well what the author must have gone through while selecting which paintings to use in the respective chapters.
For those that have never seen them, please click the links below. They are snippets from the documentaries I was talking about above and show the fantastically quirky courtship dances of some of these birds along with their songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTmHtxJpEWE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWfyw51DQfU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7QZnwKqopo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2EXFsMKm2k
Because seeing them in the impressive paintings shown above is one thing, but seeing them "in action", is an altogether different experience (even if it is just on screen).
Along with the great art, the chapters tell us of when, where and how the respective species was discovered and by whom. So while the art and the birds themselves take center stage, there is some interesting history and science in here as well, which was quite nice.
I'm usually a champion of the not so flamboyant variety of animals so tropical birds - while still beautiful and impressive - are usually not my favourite kind, but these ... these are different if only because they are funny (and not always the brightest if you look at the hybrids that happen when one bird doesn't realize he's courting one from another species - no, I'm not kidding, that actually happens quite frequently with them when they get overly excited *lol*).
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